The Information Age has produced a glut of information which has created an important reference retrieval/standardized indexing concern not only for librarians, but also to students, teachers, business and professional people, as well as general readers alike who gather and store various types of publication articles such as periodicals, portfolios (pocket or without), guides, directories, trade publications, including music record albums, compact and floppy discs, coin/stamp/photograph albums and the like. For example, in the case of periodical publications like mail order catalogs, journals, magazines, etc., the constant flow of information can stack and pile up in a rather short period of time, resulting in severe mental anguish in relocating poorly marked reference sources, if at all. For this reason, publishers of some publications provide outside cover information, table of contents and seldomly an index at the close. This results in an amount of information which is necessarily associated with a reader-user but inconsistently possible to store collectively in a systematic and uniform manner and therefore discarded early or lost.
Reference markers are customarily packaged in different quantities which may include combinations of colors, and various shapes and sizes. Although in the past, loose single sheets have been inserted between the pages at the gutter margin to indicate reading passage locations. Other unorthodox methods commonly used consist of "dog-eared" page corners, inscribing the text portion or highlighting lines, if a marker is convenient, all of which are detrimental to the preservation and conservation of reference material according to the American Library Association.
Publication products are often subscribed to due to special interests which further add to the accelerated flow of personally needed information. Understandably, the systematic organization associated with the publication product becomes of secondary importance under these conditions. Thus, it is not uncommon for information as to the date of publication, issue number, special articles of interest, important statements, etc.--to go unmarked or be missing entirely from the dusty collection of publications due to the fact that it is not apparent to the user-reader the material may be only misfiled.
As a result, much inconvenience and wasted time is encountered by the researcher-user whose ability to access and retrieve needed information is dramatically inhibited forcing the researcher to a subsequent course of action for which he may regret that is due to his dependency, in part, on the necessary information unable to be produced upon demand. Not only is this undesirable from a researcher's point of view, but from the user who is interested in managing his vast publication collections for inventory control purposes since the documentation may be very sketchy.
Unfortunately, until the present invention, the burden of developing and establishing some organized and systematic methods of accessing and retrieving information lied individually in the initiative of the researcher-user to incorporate his own suitable technique in practice.
Examples of prior art relating to indexing devices is both historical and crowded as indicated by the following patents known to applicant. A continued search was conducted in U.S. Patent Depositories, prior to filing this application, for the most recent patents issued within the following Classes/Subclasses: 283/35-42; 40/78; 40/2; 35/35R; 35/43; 116/119 and 428/42. Cited references are those found to be most pertinent within the foregoing classes of study.
______________________________________ 4,696,491 Stenger 1987 4,680,210 Corcoran 1987 4,596,407 Suska 1986 4,437,685 Valencia 1984 4,019,759 Stanton 1977 3,958,816 Remmey 1976 3,680,229 Serrie et al. 1972 3,583,358 Hanson 1971 3,561,147 Valencia 1971 3,535,804 Cunningham 1970 3,473,827 Leadbetter 1969 3,463,515 Thompson 1969 3,324,823 Peters 1967 2,590,615 Heckendorn 1952 2,314,578 Erb 1943 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,696,491; 4,680,210; 4,596,407; and 4,437,685 constitutes the most advanced developments with which the present invention is concerned.
Stenger and Suska both disclose an information retrieval system each employing the use of loose-leaf binders. Stenger discloses an information indexing system for a recipe reference book whereby a supply of preprinted abstract pages found in a separate appendix section are selected and removed for placement among a plurality of alphabetic sections. Suska disclosure was cited for its merits in periodical storage and retrieval, where Suska claims and illustrates a duplicate index page to be constructed with the periodical adapted to be removed for separate storage in a loose-leaf binder. Both patents do not teach the present invention which is a reference-aid/article apparatus being temporarily secured to and removable from a publication and mountable thereon by a user; the device utilizing self-adhering and/or pressure sensitive releasable and/or reusable adhesive layer(s).
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,210, Corcoran discloses repositionable markers having a laminated liner on one face, the markers manufactured as a generic stationary product and positioned in intermeshed pairs having alternation orientation on adhesive strips. This disclosure does not teach marker(s) of the present invention which may have articulated and/or non-articulated release cover means and being optionally intermittently severed permitting the user to select and remove one marker with one release covering, if desired. The release cover means and marker substrate each being formed/defined from the same substrate or different substrates--these features are untaught by Corcoran and therefore distinguishes the present invention adequately therefrom.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,437,685 and 4,019,759, Valencia and Stanton, respectively, disclose indexing devices for reference directories. Valencia teaches a novel book index marker device which is inserted between the pages of a book with the indexing indicia disposed above and below the top and bottom edges of the book being secured in place by an elastic band extending externally of the spine of the book. Stanton also discloses a version of an index device employing the use of elongated flat transparent plastic index tabs, each being affixed by a strip of transparent adhesive tape. Both indexing devices and securement used in each are not the same as the present invention which utilizes at least one adhesive layer means where the mounting surface layer is remountable (at least once) by a user.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,816 Remmey teaches notation related book markers which use learning key cards that relate to the tabs, the tabs corresponding to key cards stored in a mountable envelope jacket mounted to the inside of a book; the envelope holding unused tabs detachable therefrom. Further, Remmey teaches the markers having identification marks in opposite directions and that both the adhesive area and identification mark area each occupy one-half of the tab, each area being a substantially square area. Other numerous distinguishable differences lie between the Remmey disclosure and the present invention. Remmey teaches an "after-market" product and does not disclose a temporarily secureable and remountable reference-aid employing at least one adhesive layer means on at least one face thereof having a preferred releasable and reusable pressure sensitive mounting layer being directly or indirectly applied to at least one face surface of the marker. Further, he does not teach the feature of a multi-functional substrate (with or without a release coating means thereon) from which at least one marker member and/or at least one release cover means may be defined/shaped therefrom; the use of the same or different substrates to define each desired apparatus element aforesaid, nor at least one attaching means area on at least one marker face thereof.
In U.S. Pat. No.3,680,229 Serrie et al, discloses a reading level apparatus having matched symbols of two series using a permanent adhesive on one face, indicating a level of student reading ability and a level of book reading difficulty. The disclosure does not teach a temporarily securable reference-aid apparatus for use with a paginated or non-paginated publication vessel/article adapted to be remountable thereon and to other publication vessels by a user. Further, an information means area is not taught to comprise not only both non-adhesive faces of the apparatus substrate, but in addition, to include the attaching means area to which at least one adhesive layer means is applied thereto, wherein a substantially flexible liner means may be therebetween two adhesive layers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,358 shows an assembly of marker tabs separably removable from a matchbook-like holder for marking pages of a book. Hanson does not teach the use of a separably removable and mountable directory corresponding to markers, nor does he disclose an apparatus temporarily secured as a part of a publication during manufacture as taught by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,147 is cited as an example of a book index prefabricated as an insert leaf adapted to mount between the leaves of a reference directory which has an outwardly folded tongue reversely folded and threaded through an appropriate precut slit to provide a triple ply tab. Valencia does not disclose an apparatus being temporarily secureable to and remountable on a publication vessel/article, nor is the use of a separably remountable/mountable directory and/or file head tab discussed. Valencia does not teach the meritorious functions of the present invention.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,535,804 Cunningham shows a page-edge reinforcing device and method of mounting to a "thin" directory page, where successive adjacent tabs are displaced serially when the apparatus is mounted on appropriate pages of a book longitudinally in alignment with the edge. This patent does not discuss the use of at least two determined indicia means having an associative relationship between markers and/or between the directory. The objects and functions are substantially different than those of the present invention.
Leadbetter, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,827, illustrates a permanently mounted directory with separably connected index tabs to the body of a page of a book, the tabs being a folding type with transverse fold lines on the rectangular tabs intermediate their length. Leadbetter does not disclose the present invention which has indentification areas on both faces of the markers, an apparatus which is temporarily secured with a publication--including a separably removable directory for mounting thereon, machine readable indicia to be accepted, an intermittently severed releasable covering adapted to be imprinted on at least one face nor a substantially transparent adhesive adapted to be colored.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,515 was selected for showing another indexing device of transparent material having a disc-shape and transparent adhesive, and utilizing an identification character on each tab for facilitating alignment with each other. The indexing apparatus disclosed is not the same as the present invention, further, no intermittently severed releasable protective covering is discussed nor is the system taught to be included during manufacturing of a publication.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,823 illustrates Peters disclosing an earlier version of U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,685 (1984) issued to Valencia wherein a book mark device comprising a plurality of markers, being not less than substantially the same size as a page of a book and having a tab portion opposite the inserted edge, is inserted between adjacent pages of a book into the gutter and banded by a resilient member extending around the pages adjacent the spine. This disclosure, being more closely related and similar to Valencia, however, is distinctly different from the numerous accomplishments which the present invention employs.
Heckendorn in U.S. Pat. No. 2,590,615 was selected for showing a removable page and bookmark having a formed tab with friction material at the point adapted to wedge the bookmark between the leaves of a book, to secure the book mark in position. Heckendorn does not teach the present invention having removably mountable apparatus members for mounting to a paginated or non-paginated publication.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,314,578 Erb discloses a pair or pairs of co-acting index tabs being permanently secured by moistened adhesive or by a strip of "Scotch" tape being severed to remove the tab from the page. Erb does not discuss utilizing an intermittently severed releasable protective covering, being adapted to be imprinted on at least one face, substantially transparent adhesive adapted to be colored, nor the employment of reciprocally cooperating "cross-matched" identification indicia corresponding to a mountable directory having "like" identification indicia. This indexing device is not the same as the present invention.
No prior art disclosures suggest the accomplishments of the present invention.